Dual UK/Irish Nationality

[Biker9090]

Due to brexit I applied for and recieved my Irish passport. I now have both my UK and Irish ones.

Theoretically speaking, am I able to effectively have the best of both worlds when going through passport control? I.e. easy entry into the EU (something about new rules requiring biometric data and charges for non EU nationals?) and easy entry back into the UK? I'm assuming it would be best to use the Irish passport and not even bother with the UK one due to the common travel area?

I've not travelled abroad since brexit so have zero knowledge of how this all works now.

[DaveTheRave87]

Essentially you can use whatever passport's easier. Irish will be easier to use in the EU although I've travelled on a UK passport and the only thing I've experienced was a slightly longer queue.

[TheDrownedApe]

just about to apply for Irish passport too, via grandmother. Was it easy?

[What The Deuces]

DaveTheRave87 said:

Essentially you can use whatever passport's easier. Irish will be easier to use in the EU although I've travelled on a UK passport and the only thing I've experienced was a slightly longer queue.

I think the question is can you use one passport for outbound and the other for inbound?

I'd suggest not ( as the airline will need your passport details and they would be cross referenced at passport control?) but maybe wrong.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Biker9090 said:

Due to brexit I applied for and recieved my Irish passport. I now have both my UK and Irish ones.

Theoretically speaking, am I able to effectively have the best of both worlds when going through passport control? I.e. easy entry into the EU (something about new rules requiring biometric data and charges for non EU nationals?) and easy entry back into the UK? I'm assuming it would be best to use the Irish passport and not even bother with the UK one due to the common travel area?

I've not travelled abroad since brexit so have zero knowledge of how this all works now.

Yes, use whatever you want or find easiest. I have a UK and a German passport, I'll generally enter and leave Germany on the German one, and enter and leave the UK on the UK one.

[LF5335]

What The Deuces said:

I think the question is can you use one passport for outbound and the other for inbound?

I'd suggest not ( as the airline will need your passport details and they would be cross referenced at passport control?) but maybe wrong.

I usually book two one way flights to counter that and it gives me more flexibility on luggage (and airline) on each leg of the journey. Most airlines allow for multiple ID documents to be stored on your account. However, they insist on one being selected for travel when booking / checking in and fees for changing document afterwards can be excessive.

I’m not sure there’s always a direct connection between the details you give the airline and border checks at your destination.

[Olivergt]

I would simply use the Irish passport, this gets you around the EU with ease and also, due to the Common Travel Area (CTA) back in to the UK with ease.

It kind of makes your UK passport redundant, unless there are some countries where it would be preferable to an Irish one.

[Bannock]

What The Deuces said:

DaveTheRave87 said:

Essentially you can use whatever passport's easier. Irish will be easier to use in the EU although I've travelled on a UK passport and the only thing I've experienced was a slightly longer queue.

I think the question is can you use one passport for outbound and the other for inbound?

I'd suggest not ( as the airline will need your passport details and they would be cross referenced at passport control?) but maybe wrong.

I don't think the airline and Border Force passport control share details, do they? Crossing the border is a different act than providing ID to the airline to validate that the right person is travelling on the ticket, and the two processes are air gapped, I think.

I'm interested in this as I hold a UK and a Maltese (EU) passport. My intention is to use the Maltese passport to circumvent the need for UK citizens to buy visas to enter the EU, which is coming later this year. But the airline ID thing is giving me pause for thought now. Airlines are interested in whether you've got the right to enter the destination country, so will be checking visas on UK passports, I presume. I think what I will do is present my UK passport at border control when leaving from a UK airport, but have used my Maltese one when checking in with the airline. Then use the Maltese one at the EU entry border control obviously. I think that should work. Although for the return journey, hmmm, I don't know if I can check in for that one with the UK passport to avoid any EU to UK immigration hassle.

I think for UK/Irish dual nationals, just travel on the Irish passport between UK and EU would do the trick, and no visa needed.

I think I'll write to that travel journalist bloke Simon Calder, see if he's worked it out!

Good question OP, has made me think about it properly.

[Biker9090]

TheDrownedApe said:

just about to apply for Irish passport too, via grandmother. Was it easy?

Was a bit strange with mine.

I'm adopted and applied through descent of my adopted grandma on my adopted mums side who was born in Co Tyrone. We had to apply for Foreign births registration first then would be allowed to apply for the passport.

About a year later we chased the process and the woman told us that as I'm adopted I'm already considered an Irish citizen so should just apply for a passport.

We queried this as my uncle had done the same thing for my cousions, both he and them had to apply for foreign births reg first.

There is a weired loophole that if you are adopted by an Irish citizen (my mum was considered such as having been born to an irish mother) then you are also automatically registered as an irish citizen. So even though my mum, uncle and cousins had to go through FBR I didn't

On another note my biological dad was from Sligo - although I don't have any paperwork. Had I applied through him then I would have had to go through FBR and then apply for the passport.

[Bannock]

RedWhiteMonkey said:

Biker9090 said:

Due to brexit I applied for and recieved my Irish passport. I now have both my UK and Irish ones.

Theoretically speaking, am I able to effectively have the best of both worlds when going through passport control? I.e. easy entry into the EU (something about new rules requiring biometric data and charges for non EU nationals?) and easy entry back into the UK? I'm assuming it would be best to use the Irish passport and not even bother with the UK one due to the common travel area?

I've not travelled abroad since brexit so have zero knowledge of how this all works now.

Yes, use whatever you want or find easiest. I have a UK and a German passport, I'll generally enter and leave Germany on the German one, and enter and leave the UK on the UK one.

How has that worked if you've had to provide API (Advance Passenger Information) to an airline or Eurotunnel for example? Do you see it becoming a problem when UK citizens need a visa to enter the EU, in so far as API is concerned?

[E63eeeeee...]

Bannock said:

RedWhiteMonkey said:

Biker9090 said:

Due to brexit I applied for and recieved my Irish passport. I now have both my UK and Irish ones.

Theoretically speaking, am I able to effectively have the best of both worlds when going through passport control? I.e. easy entry into the EU (something about new rules requiring biometric data and charges for non EU nationals?) and easy entry back into the UK? I'm assuming it would be best to use the Irish passport and not even bother with the UK one due to the common travel area?

I've not travelled abroad since brexit so have zero knowledge of how this all works now.

Yes, use whatever you want or find easiest. I have a UK and a German passport, I'll generally enter and leave Germany on the German one, and enter and leave the UK on the UK one.

How has that worked if you've had to provide API (Advance Passenger Information) to an airline or Eurotunnel for example? Do you see it becoming a problem when UK citizens need a visa to enter the EU, in so far as API is concerned?

People do this all the time, and it doesn't break API. If your details other than the passport numbers match then the system should link your records easily enough, but UK/RoI arrivals aren't handed off to another system from API on arrival anyway so even if the connection isn't made between the you that boarded the plane and the you that entered the UK there won't be any issues.

[Patrick Magooagain]

TheDrownedApe said:

just about to apply for Irish passport too, via grandmother. Was it easy?

You will need birth and marriage cert's to prove the link to your surname.
I've just applied using my fathers birth certificate. Easy enough once you have the certificate.

[Bannock]

E63eeeeee... said:

People do this all the time, and it doesn't break API. If your details other than the passport numbers match then the system should link your records easily enough, but UK/RoI arrivals aren't handed off to another system from API on arrival anyway so even if the connection isn't made between the you that boarded the plane and the you that entered the UK there won't be any issues.

Yeah I understand it's not a problem now, and certainly not between UK and RoI. I was asking the other guy (RedWhiteMonkey), who is a UK/German dual national, if he envisages a future issue when UK passport holders need a visa. That may well complicate the situation. Sorry, a bit off topic I know but hope the OP didn't mind the slight diversion. Irish passports are different to any other EU passport in relation to UK entry/departure because of the Common Travel Area.

[E63eeeeee...]

Bannock said:

E63eeeeee... said:

People do this all the time, and it doesn't break API. If your details other than the passport numbers match then the system should link your records easily enough, but UK/RoI arrivals aren't handed off to another system from API on arrival anyway so even if the connection isn't made between the you that boarded the plane and the you that entered the UK there won't be any issues.

Yeah I understand it's not a problem now, and certainly not between UK and RoI. I was asking the other guy (RedWhiteMonkey), who is a UK/German dual national, if he envisages a future issue when UK passport holders need a visa. That may well complicate the situation. Sorry, a bit off topic I know but hope the OP didn't mind the slight diversion. Irish passports are different to any other EU passport in relation to UK entry/departure because of the Common Travel Area.

I guess it might make it more difficult for you to check in with your UK passport when leaving the UK for an EU destination if you intended to use your German passport at the other end, although that would be more about you looking undocumented to the airline than about API. Leaving on the German (or Irish) passport would be simpler.

[Bannock]

E63eeeeee... said:

Bannock said:

E63eeeeee... said:

People do this all the time, and it doesn't break API. If your details other than the passport numbers match then the system should link your records easily enough, but UK/RoI arrivals aren't handed off to another system from API on arrival anyway so even if the connection isn't made between the you that boarded the plane and the you that entered the UK there won't be any issues.

Yeah I understand it's not a problem now, and certainly not between UK and RoI. I was asking the other guy (RedWhiteMonkey), who is a UK/German dual national, if he envisages a future issue when UK passport holders need a visa. That may well complicate the situation. Sorry, a bit off topic I know but hope the OP didn't mind the slight diversion. Irish passports are different to any other EU passport in relation to UK entry/departure because of the Common Travel Area.

I guess it might make it more difficult for you to check in with your UK passport when leaving the UK for an EU destination if you intended to use your German passport at the other end, although that would be more about you looking undocumented to the airline than about API. Leaving on the German (or Irish) passport would be simpler.

I don't think you're quite getting the potential problem.

Example. I am travelling London-Berlin, return. I have a UK and a German passport (or other, non-Irish EU passport). UK citizens require a visa to enter Germany. But I have a German passport, so don't have to buy one. So I book airline tickets. Ah. I have to enter API. I can only enter one passport number. So which do I choose? I enter the UK one, and I'm going to need to enter the visa details also to the airline as they need to ensure I have to correct documentation to be allowed entry at my destination. So do I enter the German passport instead, in which case I'm going to have the same problem on the return journey needing to enter visa details to enter the UK, again the airline will have to make that check. I don't need any visas to cross the actual national borders either way, but but I'm potentially going to need at least one in order to be able to enter API details for airline checks.

Unless the airlines have thought of this and implement a system where you can enter two set of details. And that's what I was asking RedWhiteMonkey, if he had any idea whether these potential pitfalls had been planned for, so far as he's aware.

[E63eeeeee...]

OK, I think I see what you're saying. But that's not a new scenario - if you've got non-EU dual citizenship now, you'll have exactly this situation. It won't be a problem.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Bannock said:

RedWhiteMonkey said:

Biker9090 said:

Due to brexit I applied for and recieved my Irish passport. I now have both my UK and Irish ones.

Theoretically speaking, am I able to effectively have the best of both worlds when going through passport control? I.e. easy entry into the EU (something about new rules requiring biometric data and charges for non EU nationals?) and easy entry back into the UK? I'm assuming it would be best to use the Irish passport and not even bother with the UK one due to the common travel area?

I've not travelled abroad since brexit so have zero knowledge of how this all works now.

Yes, use whatever you want or find easiest. I have a UK and a German passport, I'll generally enter and leave Germany on the German one, and enter and leave the UK on the UK one.

How has that worked if you've had to provide API (Advance Passenger Information) to an airline or Eurotunnel for example? Do you see it becoming a problem when UK citizens need a visa to enter the EU, in so far as API is concerned?

Never been a problem yet.

[Bannock]

Yes guys, I know it's never been a problem yet, I'm wondering if it will become a problem once visas are introduced in November this year. It might complicate things.

I guess nobody knows.

[Pica-Pica]

… come into the parlour, there’s a welcome for you there.

[Mortarboard]

My wife has dual US/Irish nationality.
Puts one or other on travel docs, carries both. Presents whatever is required on entry to customs.

No issues so far

M.